January 23rd, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Deere is laying off about 910 workers indefinitely from factories mostly in Iowa and will sideline another 500 employees in Illinois until late summer, as the agricultural equipment maker adjusts to demand for its products. The Moline, Illinois, company also says it is adding 220 jobs at construction and forestry factories in Iowa. It plans to fill nearly all those positions with workers were laid off at agricultural equipment factories last year. The latest indefinite layoffs will be at sites that build agricultural equipment.

Employees laid off until summer work at the company’s seeding and cylinder factory in Moline. That location is going on an extended inventory adjustment shutdown. Deere & Co. is the world’s biggest farm equipment supplier. It employs about 29,000 in the United States and Canada.

January 22nd, 2015 by Ric Hanson

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says numerous items, including a tractor, were stolen from the rural Thayer, area. The owner, who lives in Lorimor, reported on Jan. 17th, that someone took a gate, a 1950’s Ford pull-type combine, Allis Chalmers WC Commander Tractor with side hay loader, one steel wheel, and a 3 point bucket from his property on Warbler Avenue near Thayer. The property was valued at $2,600. Officials say the theft happened sometime within the past day.

Sheriff’s officials said also, 26-year old Clay Allen Brammer, of Arispe, was arrested Wednesday (1/21/15) at 9:00 PM at the Law Enforcement Center on a Union County Warrant for 1st offense domestic abuse assault. Brammer is being held in the Union County Jail awaiting an appearance before the Magistrate.

January 21st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is temporarily closing the River Valley Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Park in Pottawattamie County. The 360-acre park, located along the Missouri River, has a large number of cottonwood trees that are dying from repeated flood exposure over the last five years. The dying and falling trees have become a safety concern for the general public who visit the area for OHV recreation, the River Valley Trails Riders OHV Club, who maintains the park, and the DNR.

An evaluation of the trees in the park has been completed, and the resulting forestry plan will be implemented, beginning with a public hearing, followed by removal and sale of identified trees. David Downing, DNR Off-Highway Vehicles Program Manager, says “The goal of this process for both the DNR and the River Valley Trail Riders is to open the park as soon as it is safe to do so,and provide for the long-term sustainability of the park and its trail system.”

According to Downing, the DNR is doing everything possible to have the OHV park open at the earliest date and provide the safest recreational riding conditions.

January 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

This year, 10 Iowa communities, including Atlantic, will participate in a public inventory of their trees through a U.S. Forest Service grant called Sustainable Urban Forestry Training and Assistance (SUFTA). The grant will fund training to municipal staff, non-profits and interested citizens, so communities can complete a public tree inventory, prepare for emerald ash borer and create a sustainable urban forestry program.

Attendance at all eight training sessions is mandatory to take part in the community tree inventories. Interested individuals, civic groups and clubs are asked to contact the local coordinator at the respective phone number for further details. In Atlantic, the training sessions begin Feb. 24th. For more information or to participate, call John Lund at 712-243-4810.

For more information about the Sustainable Urban Forestry Training and Assistance (SUFTA) grant program, contact Laura Wagner, grant coordinator at 515-725-8456 or laura.wagner@dnr.iowa.gov.

January 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Time is running out for landowners in Iowa’s 46 best pheasant counties to secure funding to restore pheasant habitat in Iowa’s core pheasant range. The Iowa Pheasant Recovery – State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) program is for Iowa landowners who want to restore top notch pheasant habitats to their property. It is a new USDA continuous CRP practice designed to restore native grasslands and wetlands where they will be the most beneficial for ring-necked pheasants.

Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says “We are getting a lot of pressure from landowners in the secondary counties to release these acres so they can make offers to enroll. Landowners in primary pheasant counties who are interested in this program shouldn’t wait to contact us because acres may be shifted to the secondary counties.”

Primary pheasant counties include (locally): Adair, Adams, Audubon, Carroll and Cass. Pheasant and other grassland birds are particularly vulnerable to harsh winters and wet springs. Restoring top quality winter and nesting/brood-rearing habitat will help pheasant populations recover and could boost annual harvest by 100,000 roosters.

CRP rental rates are at an all-time high in Iowa. Landowners should contact the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau private lands staff to discuss eligibility and cost share assistance. A map of DNR staff contacts and a factsheet on the Iowa Pheasant Recovery program is available at www.iowadnr.gov/habitat

January 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A group representing farmers is calling on the state to toughen oversight and penalties related to pesticide use. The Iowa Farmers Union said Tuesday that members have petitioned the state to change rules governing pesticide drifting through the air. They say chemicals typically used on conventional crops can drift and damage organic produce grown nearby.

Union President Jana Linderman says the group would like the state to require commercial pesticide users to notify some nearby farms 48 hours before spraying. Other changes they seek include increasing fines for operations that repeatedly break the pesticide rules.

A spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture said officials would meet with the group Thursday and will consider the request.

January 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

One of two Cass County men suspected of illegally possessing more than 100 sets of deer remains has been cited in the matter. 23-year old Sean Chamberlin, of rural Atlantic, is charged with 111 counts of illegal possession of deer remains, plus one count of illegally transporting deer, illegally killing a raccoon, illegally killing a badger, unlicensed harvesting of fur and failure to report a harvested deer. He had earlier been ticketed for littering. State Conservation Officer Brian Smith told the Daily NonPareil Sean’s father, 47-year old John Chamberlin, Jr., also of rural Atlantic, will be cited later this week.

John Chamberlin Jr., will be cited on suspicion of 111 counts of illegal deer possession, according to Smith. The citations for illegal possession of wildlife remains are simple misdemeanors and can result in thousands of dollars in civil penalties.

Authorities began investigating the father and son after a Dec. 29th report of someone dumping litter on the side of a rural road northeast of Atlantic, near the home of John Chamberlin. Responding deputies found the hides of four deer, a raccoon and a badger carcass. According to court documents, a deputy spoke to the two men about the remains. Sean Chamberlin said he dumped the remains along the road. The deputy asked Sean Chamberlin how he obtained the deer. Chamberlin said the deer were found dead, were roadkill or were shot in hunts.

But the story didn’t make sense when investigators compared the Chamberlins’ licenses to the animals that had been harvested, according to court documents. The next day, law enforcement officers were allowed onto John Chamberlin’s property, where antlers from at least 111 deer and other animal remains were discovered. In addition to the fine of $195 per set of dead animal remains, liquidated damages for an individual animal could be as much as $2,500, plus 80 hours of community service, or $5,000 in lieu of those hours.